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Improving Skyrim / Recommended Mods thread (Mostly about Requiem)
- Thread starter Crispy
- Start date
Lancehead
Liturgist
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,550
To give context to this question,
I encountered my first one in Fellglow Keep. I wasn't expecting it since I first entered the forge room by picking the lock before meeting the Caller. I was in sneak mode and spent some time checking out the books on the shelves by the wall. Then when I moved towards the Daedric shield in the centre of the forge I got the nasty surprise. More surprising was that it didn't notice me all that prior time when I was in lighted area. After a reload I was even able to get a sneak attack before it noticed me and ripped me apart. So methinks it may not have eyes. Or perhaps it was sleeping, though that seems unlikely.
Ivar the Boner
Arcane
I could use some "housecarl corpse detector". My first one died while I was... advancing backwards during a fight with random dragon and she kinda died during the process. I was so carried away with bloodlust that when dragon finaly decided to fly away I couldn't find this bitch body and she had my daedric shit on her. Well, poop.
Also, game is glitching like crazy, random horses I stole are following me from time to time but when I actually want them to stay in one place (when I clear some cave for example) they are not there when I'm back. Also, housecarl from Falkreath never appeared when Jarl made me Thane of this place. Goddamit, why Bethesda games always glitch out like that?
Kill moves remover mod seems to work, I still get "takedown" animation when I perform stealth kills but they never freeze anyone in place during actual melee fight. It made me die a LOT less.
Also, game is glitching like crazy, random horses I stole are following me from time to time but when I actually want them to stay in one place (when I clear some cave for example) they are not there when I'm back. Also, housecarl from Falkreath never appeared when Jarl made me Thane of this place. Goddamit, why Bethesda games always glitch out like that?
Kill moves remover mod seems to work, I still get "takedown" animation when I perform stealth kills but they never freeze anyone in place during actual melee fight. It made me die a LOT less.
Clockwork Knight
Arcane
Unless you added a mod for it, stolen horses aren't supposed to stay where you left them. They slowly walk back to where you found them.
Should be okay if you make a beeline for Whiterun. I think you can even train on the dummies by the Companions guild.
Should be okay if you make a beeline for Whiterun. I think you can even train on the dummies by the Companions guild.
hell bovine
Arcane
I think Skyrim is just not made for companions (unless they are completely unkilllable; the Nords should send their army of creepy kids to fight the dragons), because the atrocious pathfinding means they are never where you want them to be in battle, except in the line of fire that kills them. The only housecarl I've tried, Lydia, got bugged and was somehow replaced by a hostile Fire Atronach during one of the quest, anyway. (Although maybe she simply got fed up with having to carry all the burdens, wouldn't blame the woman.)
Ivar the Boner
Arcane
That's true, companions are just a pack mules and archer distraction. I think their AI is going bananas in combat because they are unable to beat anyone other than lowly bandit, even when armed with ebony stuff. They probably can't decide if they are supposed to fight or follow you so they do neither, in true Bethesda fashion.
hell bovine
Arcane
I could get on with them dying in combat, but watching them try to brave a corner in a dungeon, when there is an enemy behind it, is just too much.
Borelli
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2012
- Messages
- 1,299
Finally managed to beat Requiem's Alduin. My character was a heavy armor spellsword with restoration and alteration and a bit of conjuration (primarily for soul trapping and mark/recall which is the best 
) with enchanting.
My standard tactic for fighting dragons (he lands i get a couple of blows in, then he flies off giving me time to heal and the process is repeated) worked on Throat of the world but his "good luck im behind 7000 skeletons" move got both me and my CPU panicked. They are a summon so i ran for 60 seconds or so but by that time he regenerated too much for this to work. So while i was looking at my list of potions i noticed an "alteration spells cost 50% less", three of them in fact which allowed me to cast final alteration spel(which i could not normally cast because i have not invested anything in mana and i was in full ebony plate). You see with 850 armor rating he would one shot me so my fighting was block and hit which limited my damage. But with dragonhide my damage reduction was at a cap (which in Requiem is 95%) so i dualwielded, activated all potions of fortify one handed 50% dmg i had and just held both my mouse buttons. At the end he fell. I feel kinda shit because heavy armor was like my character concept man and with dragonhide i could have gone in naked. Still i'm glad to have conquered Requiem.
Speaking of Requiem, there is a sharp difference between low lvls/enemies and high lvl. Low level enemies and challenges are made for characters who have just escaped Helgen, 1-10 lvl characters whose strongest material is steel and whose skills are all <50. This part of the game has the most "realism" or verisimilitude if you like. Here will your unarmored ass get one shot by archers, here will you one-two shot unarmored bandits, all your attributes will be <150 and every potion,scroll or a poison you find will find immediate usage on the next group of bandits/animals. Almost roguelikeish. It is here where you will feel the most tension while looking for cover from archers/mages. High levels on the other hand is kinda bloaty, ebony armored vampires, dwemer centurions, storm atronachs all take ages to kill. Some enemies are also very annoying like dragon priests who not only have fast regen but constantly float around making fighting them as melee pain in the ass. Giants are also very annoying to fight as a melee because even if you successfully block/dodge their hits you still fall like a rock on the ground and by the time you get up they oneshot you. Invisible entities are the gayest thing ever imagined.
Having never played the DLC before i decided to finish them on this playthrough. Dawnguard was an overall disappointment. As a deus ex machina device the elder scrolls should be used sparingly but here you must find not one but THREE of them including the one from the main quest. I expected to hunt some vampires but for the majority of the quest line you go on a EPIC fetch quest with your new vampire girlfriend. With every enemy in soul cairn dropping a soul gem (which can include already filled grand ones) i was feeling downright guilty when i finished it with 20 filled grand ones in my pocket. And i was afraid i was going to have to tackle giant camps! It has the same problem the other guild quest lines do. Everybody is just sitting on their asses while you and only you do everything. I did like the snow elf part though.
Dragonborn was much much better. Nostalgia trip is sweet although Morrowind was more than just ash storms. Neloth is a much more developed character now. Raven Rock being in the same zone as the rest of the island is great, made me reminiscence of Morrowind where you didn't have to go through a loading screen to walk the streets of Balmora. However Requiem for Dragonborn was added later so it's difficulty is higher. One thing that makes Requiem great is that fighting different enemies is not just a question of your lvl but you need to use different tools in order to win, here however the creator went too far with it. So i used a bend will shout to free the people in the shrine and a lurker spawned. That thing is straight up IMMUNE to any physical dmg and as a melee enchater my elemental dmg is limited, has ridiculous regen which is NOT stopped by fire (why?). So i went to the forums to see what's the trick to them and what do i find? "go all the way to atronach forge and craft a weapon that can kill him using obscure ingredients" man FUCK this shit. It doesn't matter anyway, i've satisfied my nostalgia and i accidentally spoiled myself the story so i have nothing to lose. 150 hours on this character is enough for me.
Overall, Requiem kicks ass. Hail Draq.
) with enchanting.My standard tactic for fighting dragons (he lands i get a couple of blows in, then he flies off giving me time to heal and the process is repeated) worked on Throat of the world but his "good luck im behind 7000 skeletons" move got both me and my CPU panicked. They are a summon so i ran for 60 seconds or so but by that time he regenerated too much for this to work. So while i was looking at my list of potions i noticed an "alteration spells cost 50% less", three of them in fact which allowed me to cast final alteration spel(which i could not normally cast because i have not invested anything in mana and i was in full ebony plate). You see with 850 armor rating he would one shot me so my fighting was block and hit which limited my damage. But with dragonhide my damage reduction was at a cap (which in Requiem is 95%) so i dualwielded, activated all potions of fortify one handed 50% dmg i had and just held both my mouse buttons. At the end he fell. I feel kinda shit because heavy armor was like my character concept man and with dragonhide i could have gone in naked. Still i'm glad to have conquered Requiem.
Speaking of Requiem, there is a sharp difference between low lvls/enemies and high lvl. Low level enemies and challenges are made for characters who have just escaped Helgen, 1-10 lvl characters whose strongest material is steel and whose skills are all <50. This part of the game has the most "realism" or verisimilitude if you like. Here will your unarmored ass get one shot by archers, here will you one-two shot unarmored bandits, all your attributes will be <150 and every potion,scroll or a poison you find will find immediate usage on the next group of bandits/animals. Almost roguelikeish. It is here where you will feel the most tension while looking for cover from archers/mages. High levels on the other hand is kinda bloaty, ebony armored vampires, dwemer centurions, storm atronachs all take ages to kill. Some enemies are also very annoying like dragon priests who not only have fast regen but constantly float around making fighting them as melee pain in the ass. Giants are also very annoying to fight as a melee because even if you successfully block/dodge their hits you still fall like a rock on the ground and by the time you get up they oneshot you. Invisible entities are the gayest thing ever imagined.
Having never played the DLC before i decided to finish them on this playthrough. Dawnguard was an overall disappointment. As a deus ex machina device the elder scrolls should be used sparingly but here you must find not one but THREE of them including the one from the main quest. I expected to hunt some vampires but for the majority of the quest line you go on a EPIC fetch quest with your new vampire girlfriend. With every enemy in soul cairn dropping a soul gem (which can include already filled grand ones) i was feeling downright guilty when i finished it with 20 filled grand ones in my pocket. And i was afraid i was going to have to tackle giant camps! It has the same problem the other guild quest lines do. Everybody is just sitting on their asses while you and only you do everything. I did like the snow elf part though.
Dragonborn was much much better. Nostalgia trip is sweet although Morrowind was more than just ash storms. Neloth is a much more developed character now. Raven Rock being in the same zone as the rest of the island is great, made me reminiscence of Morrowind where you didn't have to go through a loading screen to walk the streets of Balmora. However Requiem for Dragonborn was added later so it's difficulty is higher. One thing that makes Requiem great is that fighting different enemies is not just a question of your lvl but you need to use different tools in order to win, here however the creator went too far with it. So i used a bend will shout to free the people in the shrine and a lurker spawned. That thing is straight up IMMUNE to any physical dmg and as a melee enchater my elemental dmg is limited, has ridiculous regen which is NOT stopped by fire (why?). So i went to the forums to see what's the trick to them and what do i find? "go all the way to atronach forge and craft a weapon that can kill him using obscure ingredients" man FUCK this shit. It doesn't matter anyway, i've satisfied my nostalgia and i accidentally spoiled myself the story so i have nothing to lose. 150 hours on this character is enough for me.
Overall, Requiem kicks ass. Hail Draq.
Garmik
Novice
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2011
- Messages
- 44
Dragonborn was surprisingly decent, apocrypha was quite interesting. But I agree that the dude that made the Requiem compatibility patch went too far with the need to craft those weapons.
(Also, another way to deal with lurkers is ice magic, that stops their regen, and are weak against it, but in the end you do need to gather all those ingredients for the final fight against Miraak)
(Also, another way to deal with lurkers is ice magic, that stops their regen, and are weak against it, but in the end you do need to gather all those ingredients for the final fight against Miraak)
Gord
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2011
- Messages
- 7,049
I would like a somewhat better documentation though.
In principle it can be immersive if you don't exactly know what everything does but need to find some ingame book and stuff, but take e.g. the standing stones - they are permanent, but the descriptions are very vague. So you touch it, check your character sheet if you like it and if not, reload? What if you'd like to use a given stone for your character, but it's out of reach for a good part of the game? Would rather they had reimplemented the old sign system, where you get to choose during character creation.
Also I'm having troubles with locks. How the hell does this alteration spell Animate Lockpicks work? I cast it, get an active effect, but it doesn't seem to do anything (yes I have quicksilver ore)...
In principle it can be immersive if you don't exactly know what everything does but need to find some ingame book and stuff, but take e.g. the standing stones - they are permanent, but the descriptions are very vague. So you touch it, check your character sheet if you like it and if not, reload? What if you'd like to use a given stone for your character, but it's out of reach for a good part of the game? Would rather they had reimplemented the old sign system, where you get to choose during character creation.
Also I'm having troubles with locks. How the hell does this alteration spell Animate Lockpicks work? I cast it, get an active effect, but it doesn't seem to do anything (yes I have quicksilver ore)...
Last edited:
Garmik
Novice
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2011
- Messages
- 44
Basically, while that spell is active, the lockpick in the "mini-game" starts where it should be for the lock to open. Sometimes it starts a tad buggy, and a gentle movement of your mouse will move the lockpick to the right position.
Ivar the Boner
Arcane
I made fatal mistake and tried to play around with Dawnguard DLC in worst possible moment. Mr good Dragon send me to find elder scroll and did not mark exact location of it on my map, so I decided to explore. And lo and behold! I have found member of obviosly evil vampire cult with a huge fucking elder scroll on her back, and what my only option was? to fucking escort her back to her obviosly evil vampire cult headquarters unharmed. Who the fuck design those quests? do guys making this game don't understand word NO? Jeez. I really wanted to finish this game but I'm having way more fun resurecting deers (after I took their hides to craft armour) to train conjuration than doing those fucking Oblivion style quests.
I guess Skyrim needs "Quest unfucker mod" for me to play it and not feel like I'm playing Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights.
I guess Skyrim needs "Quest unfucker mod" for me to play it and not feel like I'm playing Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights.
DraQ
Arcane
The worst thing Beth has done with quest design is departure from Morrowind style:
Minimalistic scripting, multiple entry points, not always obvious alternative resolutions and open ended approach to actually completing quest objective.
Lancehead
Liturgist
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,550
Skyrim's quest design is weirdly poor; it's usually not open-ended yet it tries to let players approach quests at different points. That is, if you enter a quest with linear progression out of order, the game simply assumes you've completed the prior steps. For example, if you steal the Lexicon from the argonian at Riften, the corresponding quest is started and your current objective will be to go to the dwemer ruins. If you talk to the argonian, she simply behaves as if she's already talked to you and gave you the lexicon.
Ivar play DG for Crossbows it adds nothing else of value to Main Quest or game world unlike Dragonborn or even fracking Heartfire. Just get there, get the Enchanted Dwarfen Crossbow and leave. I'm having fun with mod redoing the Companions into Morrowind style Guild with Entry and advancement requirements and lot more to do thanks for shity radial quests but you won't be named Harbinger after 6th quest done... In fact even if accepted you can die easily by Bandits hands or even Nature if you play with Frostfall and have unprepared character.
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22650/?
Also find something for my Pro Imperial Bretonian Knight Ambrosius
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22650/?
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/47020//?
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/47020//?
Will have to cut Timber for days to get this one... BTW cutting trees should increase Stamina.
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22650/?
Also find something for my Pro Imperial Bretonian Knight Ambrosius
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22650/?
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/47020//?
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/47020//?
Will have to cut Timber for days to get this one... BTW cutting trees should increase Stamina.
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Ivar the Boner
Arcane
And not to mention this horrible special treatment you receive everywhere like you are goddamn rock star hero of Kvatch from the beggining of the game. I really miss Morrowind and it's "Oh, some junkie in Balmora thinks you are this guy from Ashlander prophecy? Ain't you fucking special... Now, go back to shoveling shit".
It really annoys me, I hate when games make perfectly clear that whole world revolves around you. I know that world revolves around player in pretty much every game, I just hate when games make it so obvious.
It really annoys me, I hate when games make perfectly clear that whole world revolves around you. I know that world revolves around player in pretty much every game, I just hate when games make it so obvious.
DraQ
Arcane
It also adds ability to play newest version of Requiem.
That's a biggie.
(xbows rock too - very rewarding to kill stuff with.)
I'd like a generalist version padding other guilds in a similar manner.
Should be simple enough to do and enhance verisimilitude greatly.
Also, is it compatible with Requiem?
Ivar the Boner
Arcane
Ivar play DG for Crossbows it adds nothing else of value to Main Quest or game world unlike Dragonborn or even fracking Heartfire. Just get there, get the Enchanted Dwarfen Crossbow and leave. I'm having fun with mod redoing the Companions into Morrowind style Guild with Entry and advancement requirements and lot more to do thanks for shity radial quests but you won't be named Harbinger after 6th quest done... In fact even if accepted you can die easily by Bandits hands or even Nature if you play with Frostfall and have unprepared character.
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22650/?
Also find something for my Pro Imperial Bretonian Knight Ambrosius
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22650/?
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/47020//?
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/47020//?
Yeah, I took Dawnguard light armor and I think I will just ignore rest of this DLC, it's silly. Skyrim have quite nice "infinite quests" system so it's too bad you can't join the legion (or Stormcocks if you are dirty snowman) as a not-realy-regular-soldier and "immerse" yourself in this "bloody" civil war that is fucking nowhere to be found. Well, you can join the legion but with Bethesda new faction philosophy I was afraid they will make me fucking emperor or something after five quests.
You Mean I died 5 time after foolishly accepting Mission ''Go kill bunch of loosers outside Whiterun'' From Vilkas? 
Well the named Bandits are out of scale now if using Requiem; My Solution bring Lydia; let Him rape her and put the sword throu his nakid ass 
And this was after putting entry level requirement to 50 (Companions are elite and unlike Legion/Storm Cocks don't need no Dragonborn for political reasons), sparing with them whelps all and spending couple of thousands Septims into Training not to mention doing some easier quests earlier; So yes this is hardcore but compatible not only with Requiem but bunch of other mods raising the difficulty...
PS. Try this for Enchanted Civil War: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/37216/?
Had to turn off his other mods cause they made Dragons into Tank Divisions; Nice and Lore friendly but unplayable while Reqiuiem is on.
Well the named Bandits are out of scale now if using Requiem; My Solution bring Lydia; let Him rape her and put the sword throu his nakid ass And this was after putting entry level requirement to 50 (Companions are elite and unlike Legion/Storm Cocks don't need no Dragonborn for political reasons), sparing with them whelps all and spending couple of thousands Septims into Training not to mention doing some easier quests earlier; So yes this is hardcore but compatible not only with Requiem but bunch of other mods raising the difficulty... PS. Try this for Enchanted Civil War: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/37216/?
Had to turn off his other mods cause they made Dragons into Tank Divisions; Nice and Lore friendly but unplayable while Reqiuiem is on.
DraQ
Arcane
My dragon mod of choice is Mighty Dragons.
It's configurable in terms of challenge and makes dragons unique in terms of names, powers and tactics.
It's configurable in terms of challenge and makes dragons unique in terms of names, powers and tactics.
Borelli
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2012
- Messages
- 1,299
All guilds and their quest lines have disappointed me in Skyrim. Primarily because they are quest lines rather than just quests. In Morrowind you would join a guild because you are low lvl and you need easy quests, guild privileges and generally some direction to go. In Skyrim you join a guild to experience a story which is ugh. Most of them aren't even that good anyway. Where is mah mages guild? College is crap. Companions are ok, i expected them seeing as this is Skyyyriiiim although they are a rip off of Thirsk mead hall boys from Solstheim (the old one, new ones are a bunch of milk drinkers).
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
- Messages
- 1,386
I decided to hammer a square peg into a round hole and play Skyrim as a party-based game and the results weren't nearly as horrible as I expected. Granted, at its worse it's Daikatana meets Dungeon Siege but there are moments of goodness. In case anyone feels the need to pick at the festering scab that is a Skyrim replay here's how I went about it:
Because I had neither the time nor inclination to spend a week trawling and testing a hundred mods on the nexus I opted for the 'closest fit' package deals: Requiem, Interesting NPCs, and Amazing Follower Tweaks (with ASIS to plaster over cracks in difficulty balancing). Sadly I couldn't get any experienced points based leveling system mod to play nice with Requiem. It doesn't appear to be a direct problem with Requiem but rather some mash up with Skyrim's skill training bug(s) and other core issues. I doubt an exp-based leveling mod would mesh well with Requiem in anycase.
My reasoning for using Requiem - The Oldschool Cower Behind a Pillar While Draugr Gang Rape Your Followers Mod was that:
Basically, Requiem the only overhaul I'm familiar with where multiple followers don't render the game moronically easy and have a use beyond being pack mules.
I chose Interesting NPCs because:
There are probably better individual follower mods out there but I couldn't be arsed finding them and iNPCs gets the job done.
And for the party controller mod I went with Amazing Follower Teaks and the additional esps AFT No Friendly Spell Damage (a must with mage followers due to Requiem's AoE lethality) and AFT Interesting NPCs Fix. AFT's default follower limit is five but it appears to be limited to four with Requiem because Requiem is using an invisible follower in it scripts (I could be wrong there, but I was never able to get more than four followers at once). AFT allows for manual follower level-up or you can assign them an AI type and let AFT auto level-up stats for that type. Personally, I found it better to leave the iNPCs with their default AI package and manually level their stats and skills. There are also handy summon/stop/stealth party commands which can be bound to the special action key and "tweak spells" which make followers cast a given spell when a trigger condition is met so support casters are viable.
Sadly AFT doesn't have an MCM interface and there are a lot of settings to configure, but my recommendations on the most vital ones are:
Finally, because increasing followers is always going to correspondingly decrease the difficulty I used ASIS to increase the mob spawns. One follower is almost essential with Requiem and spawn increase is unnecessary. Two followers don't effect the balance that drastically and is probably the "sweet spot" although it's still worth considering increasing the spawns at that point. Three followers, however, is the real tipping point in terms of difficulty. The difference between two and three followers is huge when fighting low to mid level spawns possibly because vanilla spawn rates rarely present you with more than three opponents at once. Increasing the number of mobs that appear at any (non-scripted) spawn point nudges it back toward the difficult end of the curve. Four followers simply means that most of the time you'll end up watching a bunch of bots fight each other; it works but it's just not particularly interesting. I played to level 50 with the mod listed above with parties ranging between one to four followers (sometimes five with a quest NPC) and two to three followers was the workable range setting ASIS to spawn between 50%-100% more opponents on average.
Because I had neither the time nor inclination to spend a week trawling and testing a hundred mods on the nexus I opted for the 'closest fit' package deals: Requiem, Interesting NPCs, and Amazing Follower Tweaks (with ASIS to plaster over cracks in difficulty balancing). Sadly I couldn't get any experienced points based leveling system mod to play nice with Requiem. It doesn't appear to be a direct problem with Requiem but rather some mash up with Skyrim's skill training bug(s) and other core issues. I doubt an exp-based leveling mod would mesh well with Requiem in anycase.
My reasoning for using Requiem - The Oldschool Cower Behind a Pillar While Draugr Gang Rape Your Followers Mod was that:
- It raises the base combat difficulty enough to justify multiple followers.
- It adds heavy rock/paper/scissors elements which justifies follower specialisation.
- The player can't (reasonably) achieve competence at everything in Requiem, thus that specialisation party dynamic thing again.
- It makes nasty status effects like near blindness and paralysisation commonplace which, once more, justifies followers.
- Requiem's obsession with HP regenerating enemies further justifies followers. Fucking spriggans, nuff said.
Basically, Requiem the only overhaul I'm familiar with where multiple followers don't render the game moronically easy and have a use beyond being pack mules.
I chose Interesting NPCs because:
- Vanilla followers never feel like anything more than bots. Some* of the iNPCs followers have enough unique location and event specific banter to generate the illusion that I'm playing a proper party-based game. Zora Fair-Child in particular almost always has something to say. For example, the three iNPCs I had with me at the time all had some condolences to offer me on the death of Kodlak Whitemane (like I gave a toss about the old fart).
- iNPC followers are lore friendly and the voice acting is above par for a mod.
- It's a package deal which saved me the demeaning task of wading through all the anime/mary sue/wank fantasy dross in search of worthwhile individual follower mods and dealing with compatibility issues.
There are probably better individual follower mods out there but I couldn't be arsed finding them and iNPCs gets the job done.
And for the party controller mod I went with Amazing Follower Teaks and the additional esps AFT No Friendly Spell Damage (a must with mage followers due to Requiem's AoE lethality) and AFT Interesting NPCs Fix. AFT's default follower limit is five but it appears to be limited to four with Requiem because Requiem is using an invisible follower in it scripts (I could be wrong there, but I was never able to get more than four followers at once). AFT allows for manual follower level-up or you can assign them an AI type and let AFT auto level-up stats for that type. Personally, I found it better to leave the iNPCs with their default AI package and manually level their stats and skills. There are also handy summon/stop/stealth party commands which can be bound to the special action key and "tweak spells" which make followers cast a given spell when a trigger condition is met so support casters are viable.
Sadly AFT doesn't have an MCM interface and there are a lot of settings to configure, but my recommendations on the most vital ones are:
Teak Options -> Settings
Need to set for each NPC
-------------------------
NPC cannot permanently die: ON because Requiem will ensure they won't survive to the end of any moderately sized dungeon.
NPC combat regen boost: OFF because followers are powerful enough as is.
NPC force post combat auto-heal: OFF but may be redundant due to the Followers No Combat Recovery global setting.
Global settings
----------------
Followers ignore friendly fire: ON for obvious reasons.
Followers avoid traps: ON for obvious reasons.
Follower Skill Synergy: OFF. With it on you'll gain experience for follower skills usage which sounds like a good idea on paper as the more followers you have the less opportunities you'll have to hone combat skills. In practice though it just leads to strangely unbalanced skills gains, your exclusively light armor wearing character becoming far more proficient in heavy armor for example, and an increased leveling rate.
Boost Follower Stats: OFF because followers are powerful enough as is.
Boost Follower Damage: OFF because followers are powerful enough as is.
Followers No Combat Recovery: ON so when those fuckers go down during combat they stay down (they're actually 'dead' and get resurrected when the fight is over). This is essential because without it they'll just go into crouched wounded mode and will get up again during long fights.
Followers Never Initiate Combat: ON so they don't behave like the quest follower morons you're occasionally forced to work with.
Tweak Options -> Gear
Enable Outfit Management: ON. Divides the followers inventory into two sections: gear they actually equip and backpack storage. Very useful. There are actually further subdivisions which I won't mention because they're LARPing related and LARPing is an abomination unto the Lord.
Need to set for each NPC
-------------------------
NPC cannot permanently die: ON because Requiem will ensure they won't survive to the end of any moderately sized dungeon.
NPC combat regen boost: OFF because followers are powerful enough as is.
NPC force post combat auto-heal: OFF but may be redundant due to the Followers No Combat Recovery global setting.
Global settings
----------------
Followers ignore friendly fire: ON for obvious reasons.
Followers avoid traps: ON for obvious reasons.
Follower Skill Synergy: OFF. With it on you'll gain experience for follower skills usage which sounds like a good idea on paper as the more followers you have the less opportunities you'll have to hone combat skills. In practice though it just leads to strangely unbalanced skills gains, your exclusively light armor wearing character becoming far more proficient in heavy armor for example, and an increased leveling rate.
Boost Follower Stats: OFF because followers are powerful enough as is.
Boost Follower Damage: OFF because followers are powerful enough as is.
Followers No Combat Recovery: ON so when those fuckers go down during combat they stay down (they're actually 'dead' and get resurrected when the fight is over). This is essential because without it they'll just go into crouched wounded mode and will get up again during long fights.
Followers Never Initiate Combat: ON so they don't behave like the quest follower morons you're occasionally forced to work with.
Tweak Options -> Gear
Enable Outfit Management: ON. Divides the followers inventory into two sections: gear they actually equip and backpack storage. Very useful. There are actually further subdivisions which I won't mention because they're LARPing related and LARPing is an abomination unto the Lord.
Finally, because increasing followers is always going to correspondingly decrease the difficulty I used ASIS to increase the mob spawns. One follower is almost essential with Requiem and spawn increase is unnecessary. Two followers don't effect the balance that drastically and is probably the "sweet spot" although it's still worth considering increasing the spawns at that point. Three followers, however, is the real tipping point in terms of difficulty. The difference between two and three followers is huge when fighting low to mid level spawns possibly because vanilla spawn rates rarely present you with more than three opponents at once. Increasing the number of mobs that appear at any (non-scripted) spawn point nudges it back toward the difficult end of the curve. Four followers simply means that most of the time you'll end up watching a bunch of bots fight each other; it works but it's just not particularly interesting. I played to level 50 with the mod listed above with parties ranging between one to four followers (sometimes five with a quest NPC) and two to three followers was the workable range setting ASIS to spawn between 50%-100% more opponents on average.
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